Extravagant Palaces of Deposed Rulers

February 27, 2014

The old saying that power corrupts is evident in the palaces and homes of some of the world most imfamous deposed rulers. Their former palatial residences, and the personal items they acquired while their countries heading to economic ruin, range from merely extravagant to supremely gaudy.

Vadim Ghirda/AP

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A conference hall inside the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, Romania. Twenty-five years after communism collapsed, the Palace of the Parliament, a gargantuan Stalinist symbol and the most concrete legacy of ex-dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, has emerged as an unlikely pillar of Romania's nascent democracy.

Vadim Ghirda/AP

9of24

A conference hall inside the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, Romania. Twenty-five years after communism collapsed, the Palace of the Parliament, a gargantuan Stalinist symbol and the most concrete legacy of ex-dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, has emerged as an unlikely pillar of Romania's nascent democracy.